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Water in hydraulic fluid

1395 Views 4 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  dave2280
new to machinery.. I just got a 2000 New Holland 555e. I had to change a leaky fitting.. I noticed that the hydraulic fluid was milky. Is there anyway to get rid of the moisture w/out having to do a complete fluid change. thanks.
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Hi Gagnon07 and
2455176
to My Tractor Forum...I am going to move this to the Hydraulics Forum so it gets proper exposure and hopefully some responses...as far as I know you would have to drain AND flush the system including new filter(s) if you think there is water present
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as far as i know, the only way to remedy that issue is to drain/replace....however, if you can operate the hydraulics and heat the oil up, in theory, the water should evaporate out of it if you get the oil over 200 degrees, however, this could leave your cases filled with steam, which will just condense back into the oil...so...
Heating the fluid to 140° will help it settle out so that it can be drained off. It will also tend to evapourate at a faster rate than when cold and the fluctuating level from normal hydraulic cylinder operation will vent the excess humidity.

Unfortunately, draining the settled water means opening the drain port which will dump the fluid as well if you aren't quick enough getting the plug back in. It's less messy to just drain and change the fluid and bite the bullet for the cost since it takes quite a bit of time at temperature to separate and settle the water out.

If it regularly gets normal use that warms the fluid up to 140°+, the water will <eventually> evapourate. If it sits for long periods of time between uses, change the fluid to get rid of the water.
Drain it. Water is a **** poor lubricant and a great oxidizer for rust. Then find out where it came from if its not already to late
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